The Batak objects

The pupuk and the presence of human remains?

Both sacred objects were fundamental attributes of the datus, the spiritual masters in Batak communities, who used them in protective or offensive rites. For the practice of the latter, it was essential to consult pustahas - manuscripts made of reed bark, in which the datus inscribed various types of incantatory formulas and remedies for illnesses. The making of the pupuk substance was written in the pustahas. However, today only a few people can decipher Batak literature. Van der Tuuk, a Dutch linguist who moved to Sumatra in the mid-nineteenth century, managed to translate a pustaha which he later brought back to Europe. One passage refers to a sacrificial ceremony (manumpa) to capture the spirit of an animate being, which would be the basis of the pupuk's power. Van der Tuuk describes that lead must be melted down according to precise instructions and that it is then poured "into the mouth of the monkey, the cat... and into the mouth of a toothless human being. The human and animal remains would then be left to putrefy before a liquid is extracted, to which the ashes of the cremated remains and other herbs are added. The substance is then placed in airtight jars (such as perminangken) to be preserved for future ceremonies. Protective artefacts such as tunggal panaluan or large carved stones, called pangulu balang, could also hold the substance and be loaded with it. It should be pointed out here that this version is from a single pustaha and that, being the preserve of the datus of each village, the contents of these manuscripts could vary considerably. However, many Westerners who wrote about Batak culture in the early 20th century did not fail to mention this ceremony, emphasising human sacrifice, in order to present it in its darkest light.

Their exhibition labels state that the objects contain the pupuk substance, which is made from 'a kidnapped teenager who was sacrified so that his spirit would protect the village'. This version, describing the abduction of a child from an enemy village to become the sacrificial subject, was first told by Hermann von Rosenberg in 1888 and was subsequently repeated, except for a few details, by his successors (Warneck: 1909, O. Collet: 1925, and Winkler: 1925). In the archives of the Musée d'ethnographie de Neuchâtel concerning the collections of Gustav Schneider, a letter has been preserved in which he explains the stages of manufacture of the tunggal panaluan. He also mentions H. Von Rosenberg's version of the pupuk. Thus, explorers, soldiers, missionaries and colonial administrators perpetuated this version, especially to legitimise the colonial enterprise and Christianisation in Batak lands. In addition, some Batak communities, who used the image of cannibalistic and savage populations attributed to them, also fed this version to repel intruders on the island.

Their exhibition labels state that the objects contain the pupuk substance, which is made from 'a kidnapped teenager who was sacrified so that his spirit would protect the village'. This version, describing the abduction of a child from an enemy village to become the sacrificial subject, was first told by Hermann von Rosenberg in 1888 and was subsequently repeated, except for a few details, by his successors (Warneck: 1909, O. Collet: 1925, and Winkler: 1925). In the archives of the Musée d'ethnographie de Neuchâtel concerning the collections of Gustav Schneider, a letter has been preserved in which he explains the stages of manufacture of the tunggal panaluan. He also mentions H. Von Rosenberg's version of the pupuk. Thus, explorers, soldiers, missionaries and colonial administrators perpetuated this version, especially to legitimise the colonial enterprise and Christianisation in Batak lands. In addition, some Batak communities, who used the image of cannibalistic and savage populations attributed to them, also fed this version to repel intruders on the island.

The tunggal panaluan, an emblem of the Toba Batak villages

The origin of the sacred stick comes from a founding myth of the Batak culture, whose morality concerns the prohibition of incest. Legend has it that the twin children of a king named Guru Hatimbulan committed incest. In their flight, they were both absorbed by a tree with supernatural powers. Their father called in several datu to save them, but all of them were stuck to the tree. Finally, one last datu managed to cut down the tree and all the attached beings were swallowed up by the tree. In order to commemorate the event and for the souls held by the tree to be invested in the making of a ritual instrument, the king asked that a stick with the nine faces be carved into the tree. This myth is part of the traditional Batak religion, which is inspired by the precepts of animism, the belief that a spirit charges living beings, but also inanimate objects. Thus, the tunggal panaluan becomes both the main attribute of the datus, who are its creators, and the symbol of protection for the entire village.

 These finely carved sticks, sometimes measuring almost two metres, were very common in Batak communities and attracted the curiosity of Westerners, who quickly wanted to buy them. Gustav Schneider sold one of these sticks to the MEG in 1931, which he collected in the spring of 1898 on the Toba Plateau, near the lake. As a zoologist and art dealer, Schneider made several trips to Sumatra through his father, who introduced him to the colonial administrators there. In 1934, he published two articles about his 1897-1899 collecting trip, in which he explained that he stayed at the Dohrn family's plantation in Surkanda. This was his base from which he sent his collections to Europe. But he also explains that he planned his journey with Dr O. Henngler at his house in Tebin tinggi, a town east of Permantangsiantar, from where the zoologist began his expedition to the Batak communities inland. In the historical inventory, Schneider states that he collected the stick from a Toba Batak village in the locality of Nagori, but no details are given about the village. In May 1898, in Permantangsiantar, he managed to obtain a letter of protection from a high Radja, the village chief, which allowed him to travel further towards the lake and the Batak communities still not subject to the Dutch colonial government. It is likely that he was able to obtain this letter of protection because others had already acquired it, in particular German missionaries from the Rhineland mission who reached the lake in 1873. In 1898, the Dutch colonial occupation intensified with the introduction of the Korte Verklaringen (short declarations), which required local chiefs to act as intermediaries for Dutch trade. This allowed Dutch control to be established on the island and opponents to be fought under King Singamangaraja XII. The conversion of Batak communities to the Christian religion began with the conversion of the datus and was accompanied by the destruction of sacred objects used for rituals. The other inhabitants of the village had no choice but to convert as well. It was in this context of spiritual domination and asymmetrical power relations that Gustav Schneider was able to acquire numerous objects from the Batak culture (most of his collections, which include several dozen objects, are kept in Neuchâtel and Basel).

The "pupuk pot" and its silent biography

The second artefact presented in the showcases of the reference exhibition would also contain the pupuk substance. It is a Chinese celadon pot that is closed with a carved stopper depicting a rider riding a singa, a chimerical animal combining aspects of the lion, the water ox and the horse. The singa is very characteristic of Batak art, symbolising an intermediary between the world of the living and the dead. In this sense, the carved figure of the singa may imply the presence of the pupuk inside the pot. Nevertheless, the term "pupuk pot" used on the exhibition label, which thus asserts the existence of the mixture, deserves some explanation. On the one hand, this term comes exclusively from Professor Steinmann, who documented the piece and on which a reservation can be made. On the other hand, in other European museums of world cultures, the terms perminangken (literally: container for magic substance) or guri-guri, which means "the container for the pupuk", are the ones most often used to name the object. It would indeed be a pot for containing mixtures used during liturgical ceremonies, but it cannot be affirmed that this piece was made for the sole purpose of housing the pupuk. Nevertheless, the various names of the artefact suggest that it was certainly intended to contain various preparations for ceremonies.

According to Ernest Ohly, the owner of the Berkeley Galleries who sold the piece to the museum in 1957, the celadon pot dates from the provincial Ming period or the end of the Song dynasty (960-1279). This date was used on the exhibition label to describe the vase (13th century). Although this information needs to be further documented, archaeological excavations that have been taking place for several decades on the island of Sumatra have shown that there has been trade with Southeast Asia since the 8th century. In addition, fragments of Chinese ceramics dating from the 11th century have been found. Celadon and ceramics were highly valued in the southern islands because of their beauty, but also because of their practicality. Indeed, they are very durable and have the ability to hold water, food and various preparations tightly. Added to the fact that this piece is a witness to the exchange and circulation of objects, it belies the Western imagination that was built up during the 18th and 19th centuries around Sumatra as an island isolated from trade, remaining completely wild, just like its inhabitants.

It is not possible to trace the object's journey before it arrived at the Berkeley Galleries, as no information about the period when the upper part of the piece was carved, or about the time of its use, is provided in the museum's archives and correspondence. We know that the gallery purchased directly from the ports of London, when military personnel, administrators, missionaries and explorers returned from British colonial areas. But it also bought many objects on the European art market, which it then resold at exhibitions held within the institution.

Conclusion

Damien Kunik, Curator for the Asian collection

The provenance research work carried out here by Iris Terradura, a MA intern at the MEG from August 2022 to February 2023, has made it possible to draw up a precise biographical record of the objects from the Toba Batak culture hitherto considered by the MEG to contain human remains. This in-depth work, in the museum's archives and beyond, has revealed a wealth of previously unknown or overlooked data.

As in the case of the Himalayan objects presented in the same dossier, Iris Terradura made numerous attempts to contact representatives of the Toba Batak community. As the Toba Batak community is not represented locally, attempts have been made through associations, NGOs and international organisations to submit to them the extent of the data known to MEG and to obtain their consent to the exhibition of the objects highlighted here. Attempts to do so have so far been unsuccessful.

In accordance with the MEG's ethical guidelines on the exhibition and conservation of so-called sensitive objects, the absence of consent from representatives of the community should require the museum to remove the objects from the exhibition spaces and make them invisible on the institution's distribution channels. The decision to keep them in the exhibition spaces and on the internet is nevertheless maintained for the following reasons.

The total sum of this provenance research now makes it clear that the presence of human remains in the objects concerned can be seriously questioned. The fascination for the sordid and backwardness of non-Western populations is part of the colonial history of the 19th and 20th centuries that the MEG is actively working to deconstruct. Even more interestingly, the objects from the Toba Batak culture preserved by the MEG provide a fascinating counter-history to the museum's previous account of the culture. Rather than presenting these artefacts in a macabre and very probably misleading light, they illustrate the vitality of the Toba Batak culture and the cultural and commercial exchanges that the community maintained with the Asian continent as far back as the 19th century. It is this aspect of the history of these artefacts that we now wish to focus on.

The decision to continue displaying these objects may be discussed again at any time with any person, community or institution with a proven cultural link to the objects listed.

Bibliographie

Sources

• CH AVG, MEG 350.B.1/31 - Acquisitions d'objets : correspondance avec M. Ernest Ohly (Berkeley Galleries, Londres).
•  L......t ., « Le pays des Battas et le Lac Toba dans l'île de Sumatra (Extrait des Rapports de la Société Rhénane des Missions — Cahier de juillet 1873.), In: Le Globe, Revue genevoise de géographie, tome 13, 1874. pp. 40-54.
• SCHNEIDER, G., « Aus dem Innern Sumatras. Expedition durch die battakergebiete», in : Schweizer illustrierte zeitung, n°45 / n° 46, Basel, 1924.
• —, lettre du 07 septembre 1939 adressée à T. Delachaux. Archives privées du MEN. Dossier sur les collections de Gustave Schneider, père et fils, inventorié par Yasmina Zian, automne 2022.
• —, lettre du 03 décembre 1900 adressée à C. Knapp, . Archives privées du MEN. Dossier sur les collections de Gustave Schneider, père et fils, inventorié par Yasmina Zian, automne 2022.

Littérature secondaire

• BARBIER-MUELLER, J.-P., « Une statue en pierre ‘Pangulubalang’ des Batak de Sumatra », publié par l’association des amis du musée de barbier-müller, bulletin n° 22, Genève, 1984. 
• CAPISTRANO-BAKER, F.H., Art of Island Southeast Asia: The Fred and Rita Richman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New-York, 1994.
• GROSLIER, B.P., « La céramique chinoise en Asie du Sud-est : quelques points de méthodes », in : Archipel, vol. 21, 1981, pp. 93-121.
• JAMALUDIN S., Hasibuan, Art et culture /Seni Budaya Batak, P.T. Jayakarta Agung Offset, Jakarta, 1985.
• SIBETH, A., Batak. Kunst aus Sumatra, Museum für Völkerkunde Frankfurt am Main, 2000.
• SIREGAR, J., HETDY, S., HOLMES, R., « Structural analysis and didactic values of batak toba turi-turian sigale-gale and tunggal panaluan (case study of batak toba local wisdom) », in : International Journl of English and Literature and social sciences, 2020, pp. 1875-1882.
• VAN DER PUTTEN, J., ZOLLO, R., Ausstellungskatalog “Die Macht der Schrift: Die Manuskriptkultur der Toba-Batak aus Nord-Sumatra” / Exhibition Catalogue “The Power of Writing: The Manuscript Culture 29 of the Toba Batak from North Sumatra, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Universität Hamburg, 2020.